Tag: Castalia House

Brings the Lightning by Peter Grant

Castalia House is very pleased to announce the publication of a new Western novel, Book 1 in The Ames Archives, Brings the Lightning, by Peter Grant.

When the Civil War ends, where can a former Confederate soldier go to escape the long memories of neighbors who supported the winning side? Where can Johnny Reb go when he can’t go home?

He can go out West, where the land is hard, where there is danger on every side, and where no one cares for whom you fought – only how well you can do it.

Walt Ames, a former cavalryman with the First Virginia, is headed West with little more than a rifle, a revolver, and a pocket full of looted Yankee gold. But in his way stand bushwhackers, bluecoats, con men, and the ever-restless Indians. And perhaps most dangerous of all, even more dangerous than the cruel and unforgiving land, is the temptation of the woman whose face he can’t forget.

When you can’t go home again – go West!

Earlier this year, Peter Grant, the author of The Maxwell Saga and The Laredo Trilogy, happened to mention that he was interested in reviving the classic Western, and was, in fact, engaged in writing one. While the thought of publishing a Western was appealing, my initial impression was that Castalia House had more than enough on its plate attempting to revive classic science fiction and fantasy, and besides, I’ve always been more of a Louis L’Amour fan than a particular fan of the genre.

But then it occurred to me that for many Western civilizationists who love liberty, the Western is central to our conception of ourselves, and moreover, that there was very likely a connection between the SJW infestation in SF/F and the loss of interest in the Western genre by the mainstream publishers. As we’ve seen everywhere from computer games to comics and RPGs, it is all one big cultural war.

And then there is the fact that Fair Blows the Wind is one of my favorite novels in any genre.

So, I got in touch with Peter, told him that Castalia would love to get on board with the Western revival, and offered to publish what I learned was not merely the novel that turned out to be Brings the Lightning, but was the first book in a series about a man named Walter Ames, a Confederate who finds that he can’t return home to the farm in Tennessee after the Civil War. Peter is a man of a vast and varied experience, and it shows in his writing; moreover, he is a stickler for historical research, especially where firearms are concerned.

If you have a soft spot for Westerns, or you are, like me, a L’Amour fan, I am confident you will enjoy the adventures of Mr. Walt Ames. Brings the Lightning is 229 pages, retails for $4.99, and is available only on Amazon. New Release subscribers should check their emails for the customary free bonus book offer.

From the early reviews:

  • Brings the Lightning is an
    excellent revival of the western genre popularized by the likes of Louis
    L’Amour and Zane Gray in years past. 
  • The gun nuts among his fans will be delighted at the myriad details about firearms he includes, deftly weaving them into the tale as his main character comes to depend on them for his livelihood and defense on the dangerous trip West. 
  • I found the novel to be on a par
    with the early L’Amour works such as Killoe, Fallon, Radigan, Hondo and
    Kilkenny    . Very much worth reading.
  • The storyline is L’Amouresque, but the writing style is much better. L’Amour told great stories, but let’s face it, some of his prose really clunked in places, whereas Grant’s is very smooth. 

UPDATE: Peter Grant’s own announcement of his first Western is here. It’s interesting to learn that the genre was so popular with the South African military.

    An announcement from Dr. Pournelle

    From Chaos Manor: Announcing Hardbound Edition: There Will Be War, Volumes I & II. The first two volumes of the 1980’s anthologies bound together in a hardbound edition. Obviously these are available as eBooks for considerably less, but if you want them as a book, this is your opportunity.

    There Will Be War Volumes I & II is 702 pages, casebound hardcover, and retails for $34.99 at Amazon. It may show up at other brick-and-mortar bookstores, but when that will be we do not know. It contains the complete contents of the first two volumes of Dr. Pournelle’s classic military science fiction series and marks the first time There Will Be War has ever been available in hardcover.

    The omnibus edition of Volumes I & II contain 42 stories, articles, and poems. Of particular note are “Reflex” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, the original “Ender’s Game” novella by Orson Scott Card, “In the Name of the Father” by Edward P. Hughes, “Cincinnatus” by Joel Rosenberg, “On the Shadow of a Phosphor Screen” by William Wu, and “Proud Legions,” an essay on the Korean War by T.R. Fehrenbach.

    We do not plan to release There Will Be War in paperback. The next hardcover edition will be Volumes IX & X. We designed these editions for serious fans of the series who intend to collect them; as you can see, the Vol. II cover is featured on the front while the Vol. I cover is on the back.

    Introducing Rod Walker

    Mutiny in Space by Rod Walker is the first in a new line of juvenile science fiction novels from Castalia House.

    When the radical revolutionaries of the Social Party prevent his attendance at university and make his life on New Chicago impossible, Nikolai Rovio has no choice but to accept his starship-bound uncle’s offer to take refuge in space and sign on as a technical apprentice with Starways. But space, he quickly learns, is full of dangers that can kill a young man just as dead as even the most bloodthirsty revolutionary. 

    And no place that Man can travel will ever be able to provide safe refuge from ambitious and evil-minded men. 

    Rod Walker is the New New Heinlein, and Mutiny in Space marks a first step in the long-awaited, much-needed return of science fiction to its classical form and historical heights. Written in the style and tradition of Robert Heinlein’s 12 classic juvenile novels published by Scribner, Mutiny in Space is an exciting tale of space, technology, courage, independence, and the indomitable spirit of Man. 

    Written by Rod Walker and edited by three-time Hugo-nominated editor Vox Day, Mutiny in Space is 200 pages, DRM-free, and $4.99/£4.99. Available only on Amazon.

    We are very excited about our new series of Rod Walker books, because they are exactly what we founded Castalia House to publish. They are pure Blue SF, and contain no foul language, no adult themes, no nihilism, and they are 100 percent social justice-free. Robert Heinlein revitalized science fiction with just 12 wonderful novels – 13, if one counts Starship Troopers which was originally supposed to be a Scribner novel, but was foolishly turned down – and we believe it is possible to do achieve similar effects by applying the same principles that made his early novels so successful.

    Except, of course, for the issue of gun control. Gun control was a particular bugaboo of Heinlein’s editor at Scribner, Alice Dalgleish, and while the Rod Walker books will not feature Correia-style gun porn, neither will they contain any anti-gun propaganda of the sort Dalgleish imposed on Heinlein.

    Anyhow, the Rod Walker books are intended to be books that can serve to successfully introduce boys and girls to science fiction again.

    UPDATE: It’s easy to tell the SJWs are worried about this new development, as they’re already posting attack reviews. Message fiction masquerading as Heinlein pastiche.

    UPDATE 2: Not a bad start for Mr. Walker.

    • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #327 Paid in Kindle Store
          #3 in Books > Children’s Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction
          #9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Science Fiction

    Reviewers wanted

    Castalia has been publishing a lot of non-fiction of late. But over the next few months, we’re going to be getting back to our original mission, which is advancing the state of Blue SF, which is to say science fiction that is written in the spirit of the science fiction giants, particularly Robert Heinlein.

    So, I’m looking for 10 volunteers who can review for Amazon a forthcoming book by an author we are billing as the New New Heinlein – he does Heinlein better, more respectfully, and in a much more original way than Scalzi ever did – as well as 10 volunteers who can review a novel that is written in the tradition of Louis L’Amour.

    That’s right, in addition to the return to Blue SF, we’re bringing back the Western too. So, if you’re ready, able, and willing to read and review one of these books in short order, please email me with either BLUE SF or WESTERN in the title.

    UPDATE: We have enough reviewers, thank you!

    In addition to TWO new John C. Wright novels we will be publishing this summer and fall, I’m particularly excited to publish a novel that I can only describe as written in the tradition of W. Somerset Maugham’s short stories. It’s intelligent, funny, and remarkably good.

    Our range is becoming increasingly eclectic, but as I told David the Good after his second-straight book went #1 in Gardening, (the Kindle and Paperback editions of Grow or Die are currently #3 AND #5 in the category) Castalia House has four major guidelines for the books we publish:

    • Expected #1 category bestseller. If it’s not at least as popular as the most popular books in its category, it’s probably not for us. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, but we intend to not only maintain, but improve our level of quality as we grow. As more good authors exit the orbit of the failing major publishers, we expect more of them to come our way.
    • Intelligent. We don’t aim for the lowest common denominator. We’ll leave that to everyone else.
    • Different and original. As Marc Aramini openly informed his SJW critics at Making Light, no one else would have published Between Light and Shadow. No one, because it was a crazy, unprofitable thing to do. Even Gene Wolfe, though flattered, thought the project was completely insane. It is brilliant and unique and completely over the heads of everyone who isn’t a Wolfe fanatic, myself included. And that’s why we published it.
    • No SJWs. We publish science fiction. We publish fantasy. We publish science. We publish philosophy. We publish religion. We publish literary analysis. We publish gardening. We publish economics. We are in the process of publishing both Westerns and literary novels. But we do not publish social justice in any form.

    On a tangential note, I should note that later this year, there will be another debate on free trade. We’re still sorting out the timing and the details, but it appears Robert Murphy, Thomas Woods, and myself will be involved.

    Grow or Die paperback

    We are pleased to be able to announce that the bestselling survival gardening book, GROW OR DIE: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening, is now available in paperback for $11.99. While we are massive proponents of ebooks, this is arguably the one book that you will definitely want to own in a physical format.

    While I can’t be certain that Kindles will not function properly in the post-Apocalypse, it’s probably not the safe bet.

    For some reason, Amazon has elected to confer upon David the title of Assistant Professor Psychology and Applied Therapies, so I’m sure you will all join me in congratulating him upon this unexpected academic achievement.

    There Will Be Volume XI

    Jerry Pournelle has an important announcement.

    There Will be War Volume XI

     Now open for submissions at twbw@castaliahouse.com. Publication will be in late November or early December of this year. Reprint anthology, but original works are eligible; three original fiction stories in Volume X were nominated for Hugos; winners will be announced at MidAmericon II in August. Although unpublished works will be considered, there is no additional payment beyond payment for reprint rights, and first publication rights remain with the author (until, of course, they expire at publication of this volume).

    Payment is $200 on acceptance. This is an advance against royalties. Royalties are a pro rata share of 50% of all royalties due from the publisher (the other 50% is to the editor). We buy non-exclusive anthology rights.  Publisher is Castalia House, which will make advances and royalty payments directly to the contributors. Again, payment is the same for previously published and previously unpublished works. Story selection is by me (the editor).  Editor’s contribution will include a volume introduction and introductions to each contribution, and may include more as I judge necessary.

    Submissions can be fiction or non-fiction of under 20,000 words relevant to the future of warfare.  Previous volumes have included stories of ground combat, interplanetary and interstellar naval engagements, “space opera”, terrorism, a major essay in asymmetric warfare by a professor of military history, and articles from military journals. Most works to be included have been previously published. Submissions accepted until October 2016, or until announcement that the volume is filled.

    Two classic stories by well-known award-winning authors have already been accepted, others are expected. I emphasize that payment of an advance against royalties is on acceptance.

    Gearing up for Vol. XI

    I am very pleased to observe that Jerry Pournelle has pre-announced a new volume in his legendary There Will Be War series:

    Shortly we will announce that There Will Be War, Volume XI will be published in November and is now open for submissions. It’s not the formal announcement because I don’t have the web addresses for formal submission. I don’t open attachments to emails to me (obviously with some exceptions which I’m not going to tell you) because I only read plaintext in Outlook, so sending me stories to Chaos Manor isn’t going to work; I’m sure I’ll have the web addresses very shortly.

    Publisher is Castalia House. There will be an omnibus hardbound edition (with Vol. XII) and eBook editions. We buy non-exclusive anthology rights only: that means we buy previously published works, and if you send an original work – a lot of people do – understand that if it is accepted you still have first serial rights until after November, after which they no longer exist for anyone. Payment on acceptance is an advance against royalties: royalties vary in this strange age, so it’s hard to say exactly, but they are competitive, and contributors receive a pro-rata share of half what I receive.

    My contribution is a volume introduction, and individual story introductions. I have been known to make editorial suggestions, particularly to original contributions. I have also been known to make other contributions, fiction and non-fiction, as I find necessary.

    The series has done well, even the nearly thirty-year-old volumes. Three stories in Volume X were nominated for Hugo Awards.

    We’ll get on the email addresses for submissions and whatnot this weekend. In the meantime, this means we’re going to need slush readers for it, so if you’ve got the time and you wish to volunteer to be the first line of defense, please email me with VOL XI in the title.  Last year’s readers did an excellent job, so the bar is high. Every reader should expect to read between 20 and 30 short stories in six months.

    Nota Bene: If you’re thinking of submitting once the floodgates open, that’s great, but DO NOT SEND ANYTHING THAT IS NOT MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION. I cannot stress this enough. I couldn’t believe how many stories we were sent that were obviously and totally unsuitable for the anthology series. Don’t waste your time. Don’t waste our time. And keep in mind that Jerry is no respecter of persons. I’m the assistant editor, one of my stories, submitted anonymously, passed the slush readers, and Jerry didn’t hesitate to reject it anyhow. He rejected big names. He rejected very big names. He rejected unknown names. He has nothing left to prove and he has high standards, so keep that in mind before you send in anything less than your best.

    And yes, we’re still doing Riding the Red Horse Vol. 2. Things have just been a little chaotic, that’s all. Tom and I need to sit down and figure out how many stories we’ve got already, and how many more we need.

    A few mostly unrelated items to address while I’m at it:

    1. Can someone email me the .mobi of The Return of the Great Depression? Update: Got it, thank you.
    2. We have some exciting new authors to announce at Castalia House very soon. Three, to be precise.
    3. Is anyone interested in a three- or six-month marketing internship? As you’ve probably noticed, I’m pretty good at that sort of thing, but my bandwidth is increasingly limited and I don’t do one-tenth the marketing that I should do. That’s about all the time that would be necessary to learn everything involved. My thought is to have a revolving marketing internship, in order to maximize the number of Ilk who are up to speed on these things.
    4. Four words: Brainstorm. Steve Keen. Soon.

    A question for the readers

    Which would you rather have first, A Sea of Skulls or SJWs Always Double Down? I’ve been focusing on the former, given how long Selenoth fans have been waiting, but it occurs to me that it might make sense to, you know, actually ask the core market what it prefers.

    On a somewhat related note, the first novel in what could reasonably, but will not be, described as a New Heinlein series, Mutiny in Space by Rod Walker, will be published soon. It’s an intentional attempt to capture the style and spirit of Robert Heinlein’s classic SF juveniles. I think you’ll find it is considerably more successful in doing so than some of the previously declared New Heinleins.

    UPDATE: The readers have spoken. The current schedule will remain in place. First A Sea of Skulls, then SJWs Always Double Down.

    GOD, ROBOT

    It is the year 6080 AD. Detective Theseus Hollywell has at last discovered the hiding place of William Locke, a notorious fugitive from justice who has been hunted for decades after committing unspeakable crimes.


    But Locke has a trick up his sleeve, one that the detective couldn’t expect: He has a story to tell.


    This is the tale of the theobots, the robotic beings created to love God and Man with a perfection no mere mortal could achieve. In ten stories by eight different science fiction authors, Locke recounts the role of the theobots throughout history, from the purposes for which they were originally created to their ultimate role in deciding the fate of Man, the galaxy, and one lost and tortured soul.

    GOD, ROBOT is a themed collection of intertwined stories from some of the best known names in superversive science fiction. Written in the tradition of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and edited by Anthony Marchetta, the book contains stories by John C. Wright, Steve Rzasa, Joshua Young, L. Jagi Lamplighter, and others.

    GOD, ROBOT is 162 pages, is DRM-free, and is available on Amazon. Note: One story in the collection, “The Logfile” by Vox Day, was previously published in The Altar of Hate.

    UPDATE: From the Amazon reviews:

    FIVE STARS. This one pleasantly surprised me. I don’t mind
    Asimov-style sci-fi and find the basic concept of the three laws of
    robotics very interesting, but it’s not my favorite subgenre, and I felt
    I could guess where things were going to go before I read it. It took a
    few pages, but in spite of my initial reservations I was drawn in by
    the multi-part sequential story which takes the well-known three laws
    and posits what might happen if two more laws were added… the greatest
    commandments of scripture–love God above all, and love your neighbor
    as yourself–and builds an alternate future based on the
    theologically-aware robot race that results and seeks its own place in
    God’s creation.

    Castalia site down

    I heard from the technical gentlemen. It’s no big deal, just some ISP-related stuff. It should be back up on Friday, Saturday at the latest.

    We apologize for the inconvenience.